While it’s always special to see Ballet Black, it was particularly special to see this talented, versatile and innovative company at the Quays Theatre for the opening night of their autumn tour – their first live performance since the pandemic hit...
Wim Vandekeybus’ work for Rambert was originally created and streamed live last year, when people were “desperate for old-fashioned physical interaction,” with the camera placed in the midst of the company dancers. It’s impossible to recreate this...
There’s no such thing as an unlikely musical, though some don’t stick around long enough to make an impression. Does anyone remember Fields of Ambrosia, a mid 90’s affair about a travelling executioner who falls in love with one of his victims...
Jez Dolan, stand-up, lecturer and expert on Polari, has joined forces with writer and tour guide, Joshua Val Martin to create Double-Ender, a fast-paced double bill of monologues sharing stories about Queer people in a rapidly changing Manchester...
My dear friend, the playwright, Les Smith, once told me, the first draft of a script is to show you that you have a story (beginning, middle and end). The second draft is to find out what your story is really about. Les didn’t, at that point...
Peaceophobia is a new play performed in a car park that looks at Islamaphobia through the eyes of young British Pakistani men from a modified car club. Quays Life talks to writer Zia Ahmed to find out more. What is the idea behind Peaceophobia...
Four years after the world premiere at Manchester Opera House, Bat out of Hell makes a triumphant return, bringing back a string of awards. Unlike some other jukebox musicals, the songs make perfect sense in their placement and in moving the story...
What is comedy? Many actors have tried to give a suitably succinct description. For Charlie Chaplin, ‘Life is a tragedy when seen in close up but a comedy in long-shot.’ Stan Laurel chose to be less analytical: ‘What is comedy? I don’t know. Does...
This Geomag Magicube set is aimed at pre-school children from 1 to 5 which will introduce them to the world of construction toys. It contains nine magnetic building blocks made from 100% recycled plastic; three cubes, three triangle and three...
Our 9-year-old reviewer tries out four toys from Huckleberry to encourage your little explorers to get closer to nature and enjoy some time outdoors. Huckleberry Grass Whistle, £5 Made out of eco-friendly bamboo the whistle works with magnets and a...
Georgina Wells
Steve Timms
Carmel Thomason
Martin Thomasson
Paul Thomason